FAA to close 8 Wisconsin air traffic towers

Pilots at eight of Wisconsin’s small airports will soon have to rely on each other for landings and take-offs.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday announced plans to shut down towers at airports in Eau Claire, Janesville, Kenosha, La Crosse, Mosinee, Oshkosh, and Waukesha, along with the tower at Milwaukee’s Lawrence J. Timmerman airport.

The decision means pilots flying out of those locations after April 7th will have to coordinate landings and take-offs using a shared radio frequency, without any help from ground-based traffic controllers.

Nationwide, 149 air traffic control towers are being closed due to federal budget cuts.